Method of making shoe patterns



Oct. 2, 1934. E F FRAHER ET AL 1,975,655

METHOD OF MAKING SHOE PATTERNS Filed June 30, 1932 2. Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS EDWA RD F, FAHE THOMAS F. FAHER FRAHx-:R ET A1.v

METHODOF MAKING SHOE PATTERNS 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 File@ June 3o,

INVENTORS EDWARD F. FRAHER THOMAS F. FRA/1ER Patented Oct. 2, 1934 METHOD oF MAKING SHOE PATTERNS Edward F. 'Fraher and Thomas F. Fraher, Weymouth, Mass.

Application June 30, 1932, Serial No. 620,198

3 Claims.

In manufacturing a shoe, one of the first operations consists in cutting to suitable shapes and dimensions the various sections of the upper, including both the lining pieces and the upper 5 leather parts. Usually these operations are performed in a press of a peculiar type, commonly known as a clicking press, the actual cutting being performed by cutting dies. The dies are made from patterns which, in turn, must be '10 made from the last on which the shoe is to be manufactured.

When a'last of a new style or shape has been designed it is necessary to make a new set of patterns and dies for cutting out the various parts of the uppers of the shoes to be made on that last. According to the usual method of procedure, paper patterns are first made of about the desired shape and dimensions and these are tried and then corrected or new ones made until v the proper outlines are approximated. Frequently the first rough paper pattern is cut along opposite margins into a series of narrow strips, such a pattern being applied to the last and the ends of the strips snipped off in order to get approximately the desired outline for the vamp, quarters andother parts of the upper. From the rough patterns so made, additional paper patterns are shaped with the usual cutting and trying until, in the judgment of the pattern maker, the

v shapes are approximately correct. The parts of a shoe upper are then cut from these patterns and a shoe is actually made on the last for the purpose of determining what other changes are necessary. After the patterns have been corrected in accordance .with this trial it may be necessary to make additional changes and to build another shoe for the purpose of checking the results. A permanent set of patterns then is made and these are used in making the dies for use in the clicking press.

It will be evident that this method involves the expenditure of much time and labor, and requires a high degree of skill and judgment based upon experience.

'Ihe present invention relates to methods of making patterns or dies for cutting parts of a shoe upper and it aims to improve such methods with a View to reducing the time, labor and Skill involved, and eliminating much of the guess work and cutting and trying which have been required in prior methods.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features willbe particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of opposite sides of a last illustratingsteps of the method 6u provided by this invention;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the last shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are plan views of patterns made in accordance with this invention.

The first step in the preferred method consists in covering the upper shoe-shaping surfaces of the last with a flexible sheet material which can be made to conform closely to the curves,l lines and contour of the last. Such a covering is shown at 2 in Figs. l and. 2, applied to the last 3. The covering material may consist of any one of a great variety of sheet materials, a ratherv loosely woven and substantially inelastic fabric, such as cheesecloth, tobacco cloth, muslin, or the like, or a knit fabric such as stockingette may be used. It is placed over` the top or cone of the last, preferably with the threads extending diagonally with reference to the longitudinal median axisfof the last, and it is pulled around the sides and over the bottom of the last and fastened by tacks 4, or in any other convenient manner, these operations being performed in such a way that the fabric is made to conform closely to the contour of the last and rests snugly against the sur faces substantially throughout those areas which' shape to foot engaging portions of the shoe. The loose weave of the fabric and the diagonal dis# position of the threads relatively to the longitudinal median plane of the last, facilitate the desired fitting of the covering and its conformation to the contour of the last.

When the covering has been stretched on the last in this manner it is then treated in some way to make it set in its conformed condition. This may conveniently be accomplished by coating the covering fabric with a sizing, such as a starch or glue size, which will at least partly fill the meshes of the fabric and will secure the warp and filling threads in the relationship which they occupy to each other on the last. Such sizings as those just mentioned will cause the fabric to adhere lightly to the surfaces of the last, the adhesion'so 'produced, however, being of such a nature that the fabric can easily be separated from said surfaces without stretching or distorting it. The covering is allowed to remain in this position until the sizing has dried sufficiently to overcome any substantial tendency for the threads to shift their positions, or for the fabric to spring out. of its molded or conformed condition.

While the parts remain in this condition, the outlines for the patterns, or the parts of the upper, are marked on the covering 2, and any other guide marks or designations are made which will be of assistance in making the patterns or cutting dies. Usually the median plane Vof the shoe is first indicated as by the line 5, Fig. 1, at the back of the heel and another line 6 on the forepart, the latter line extending from the upper end of the lacing slit or front vent to the toe and forming the center line of the forepart of the shoe. The line 7 defining the rear edge of the vamp and the forward edges of the quarters then is drawn in, together with any other lines which are necessary or desirable in determining the shapes of the patterns, the number and location of these lines necessarily depending upon the type and style of shoe to be made on the last. For example, if twov piece quarters are to be used, the lines 8 willY be drawn in at opposite sides of the last. If it is to have a toe cap the line 9 defining the rear edge of this cap will be drawn on the cover. The outlines for the lacing wings or flaps and the locations of the eyelets also may be designated, if desired. Usuaily, also, the covering 2 is trimmed aroundthe cone of the last, as indicated at l0, to designate the position of the top edge of the shoe, and the surplus material on the bottom of the last is trimmed off inside the line of tacks 4.

The covering 2 may now be removed from the last, care being taken not to stretch it or distort it. Usually it is preferable to cut the cover along the edge 12 of the last so as to remove all of that part of the covering which overlies the bottom of the last, and in addition tc cut it along the lines 5 and 'i and along the line G above its intersection with the line 7, all of these cutting operations being performed before any attempt is made to remove the covering. It can then be taken off the last very easily with no danger of distorting the parts to any substantial degree.

The cutting of the cover in the manner just described results in dividing it into three sections Which may be used for preliminary patterns, that forward of the line '7 and indicated by the letter Aforming the vamp pattern, while those behind the line 7 and between the lines 5 and 5 form the patterns for the two quarters. These sections are indicatedat B and C, respectively. All of these parts of the cover are flattened out, pasted on heavy paper, and patterns for the sections for both the lining and upper leather are cut from them, these patterns conforming approximately to the sections A, B and C but suitable allowance being made for lasting, overlapping and other shoe making operations. Since the allowance required for these purposes is well known, it is a very simple matterto make the paper patterns when the sections A, B and C have once been obtained. 1n Figs.' 4 and 5 the patterns for the quarter linings made in the manner above described are illustrated at 14 and 15, respectively. The patterns for the leather quarters will be like thoseshown for the linings except for slightly larger-overlaps at the. upper edges. The pattern for the vamp is shown at 16 in Fig. 6 and that for the vamp lining at 1'?, these two patterns being exactly alike except that the overlap, or'the.

allowance made for overlap, at the rear edge of the pattern 16 is-slightly greater than that at the corresponding edge of the lining pattern 17.

The permanent patterns are duplicates of the paper patterns shown in Figs. 4., 5 and 6 but are made on stronger and more permanent material,

heavy fibre board sometimes being used for this purpose, whereas in other instances the patterns aremade from sheet metal. VIf only a relatively small number of shoes is to be made on'the last,

or on duplicates of it, the parts for the shoe uppers will be cut directly from the permanent pat--v terns. Usually, however, clicking' dies are made from these patterns. Y

IIhev invention thus provides a method of makfor the shoe making operations.

ing patterns which is far more dependable than those commonly used heretofore, which substantiallyreduces the time and labor involved in these oper-ations, and which eliminates much lof the care, skill and judgment required by former processes. These advantages are especially pronounced in working with radically new designs of lasts. The process facilitates the manufacture of shoes that will fit the last more closely without uneven and excessive stretching of parts of the upper.

While we have herein shown and described the practice which we prefer to folio-w, it will be evident that minor variations may be made in this practice without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, the shapes and outlines of the parts produced on the` covering 2 while it is on the last may be transferred to the paper patterns in other ways, as will be obvious to those skilled in this art.

Having thus described our invention, what we desire to claim as new is:

1. That improvement in methods of making patterns for use in cutting out parts of a 'shoe' upper, which consists in applying a covering ofA flexible sheet material to the upper surfaces of .a last, said material being adapted toV conformto the contour of the last, causing said covering to conform to the contour .of said surfaceaadhesively fastening said covering to said surfaces while it is in said conformed position,treating said covering to cause it to set in its conformed condition, marking outlines for patterns on the covering so applied, removing said covering from the last, and shaping patterns in accordance with the outlinesso made.

2. That improvement in methods of making patterns for use in cutting out parts of a shoe upper, which consists inV applying a covering of flexible sheet material to the upper surfaces of a last, said material being adapted to conform to the contour of the last, causing said covering to conform to the contour ofsaid surfaces, pulling portions of said covering over the margin of the bottom ofthe-last and securing the'm-'to said bottom, sizing said material while in its 'co-nformed condition to cause it to set to the contour of the surfaces of the last, making pattern guide marks on the covering so applied while it is in its conformed condition, removing said covering from the last, and making Vpatterns corresponding tothe outlines so marked on said cover with suitable allowances for the shoe making operations.

3. That improvement in methods of making patterns for use in cutting out parts of a` shoe upper, which consists in fitting a iieiible covering of sheet material tightly over the upper surfaces of a last in conformed relationship thereto, working the margin of said covering over the bottom of the last, tacking said margin to the margina-l portion of the last bottom, and thereby securing'said covering 'in vits stretched condition on the last, treating said covering to cause it to set in its conformed condition on the last, marking on the covering while so set the outlines for' partsrof the upper of a shoe to be made on said last, removing said covering from the last'and making patternscorresponding to the outlines so marked on said cover with suitable allowances EDWARD F. FRAHER.

THOMAS 1'". FRA-HER.

IUD 

